Groups & Workshops

This 2-session, 90-minute workshop series is designed to develop more awareness of the impact of disordered eating and negative body image and to learn tools to begin to heal.    

For more information or to sign-up, please contact the facilitator, Estrella Ramirez, Ph.D. at eramirez2@scu.edu 

A special thanks to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for sharing their NOURISH Workshop materials with SCU and allowing CAPS to tailor the materials to fit our student body. 

A workshop to learn about the benefits of self-compassion and mindfulness meditation. 

Dates/Time:
Monday, October 27th, 3:30-5:00PM Via Zoom

To sign up, please register through the Cowell Health Portal, then select Groups/Workshops and select the preferred date. Alternatively, you can email the facilitator - Dr. Miri Choi, Staff Psychologist (mchoi@scu.edu), indicating that you would like to sign-up. 

Are you having difficulty sleeping in a new environment, or is your sleep schedule struggling to reset after summer break? Do you struggle to feel sleepy when you “should” be going to bed? The goal of this workshop is to:

• Develop an understanding of the biology behind how sleep works
• Identify unique sleep patterns and learn some strategies they can use to regulate their sleep
• Gain clear guidance for when to reach out to CAPS for more sleep support beyond these introductory skills. 

This is a 60-minute workshop offered twice during the Fall 2025 Quarter: 

Week 3 - October 7th from 12PM to 1PM; in-person at the Cowell Center

Week 5 -  October 22nd from 4PM to 5PM over zoom

For more information, please contact the facilitator - Rachael Negron, Psy.D. at rnegron@scu.edu

Do you struggle with worry? Get overwhelmed by life stress? Feel physically uncomfortable when life stress keeps piling up? Tools for Anxiety Workshop can help with that. This 90-minute workshop is designed help anybody who experiences anxiety. Come learn ways to better understand what anxiety is and how it affects you. Attendees learn useful, research-backed tools to help reduce anxiety symptoms in both body and mind.

This workshop can be particularly useful for those facing new transitions in life, like adjusting to university, entering into the job market, returning home for breaks, even facing finals. 

Attending the whole workshop is preferred; however, those who can only partially attend are welcome as well.

Dates/Time:
Monday, October 6th 3:30-5:00PM with Joe Walling, Psy.D. at the Cowell Center
Tuesday, October 21st 3:30-5:00PM with Daniel Reed, Psy.D. at Benson Conference Room 209
Wednesday, November 5th 3:30-5:00PM with Daniel Reed, Psy.D. at Benson Conference Room 209

To sign up, please register through the Cowell Health Portal, then select Groups/Workshops and select the preferred date. Alternatively, you can email either facilitator - Daniel Reed, Psy.D. at dreed2@scu.edu or Joe Walling, Psy.D. at jwalling@scu.edu indicating that you would like to sign-up. 

This 2-session, 60-minute workshop series is designed for any student who wants to learn ways to boost their focus and productivity. Consecutive attendance is not required. Come to one or both sessions and learn practical strategies:

Session 1: Organization and Task Approach: Learn strategies that help improve time management skills, task management, and routine development

Session 2: Attention and Concentration Management: Explores the factors that impact attention and concentration, explores ways to set breaks, reduce distractors and learn study strategies that help improve information retention

In either session, you’ll walk away with actionable skills to address executive functioning and attentional challenges with confidence. 

This workshop is not a deep, dark, secret sharing space. Instead, it is a space where you will learn new information, practice skills, and learn ways to individualize these skills to fit your lifestyle. Students do not need a diagnosis of ADHD or any other executive functioning disorder to participate in this workshop. 

Location, Date, and Time:
Lucas Hall Room 108: Wednesdays  10/8 and 10/15 from 12PM to 1PM (Facilitator: Daniel Reed, Psy.D)

Graham Hall Room 164:  Wednesdays  11/5 and 11/12 from 5PM to 6PM (Facilitator: Mitch Gale, LMFT)

To sign up, please register through the Cowell Health Portal, then select Groups/Workshops and select the preferred date. Alternatively, you can email either facilitator - Daniel Reed, Psy.D. at dreed2@scu.edu or Mitch Gale, LMFT at mgale@scu.edu indicating that you would like to sign-up.

This semi-structured group offers students the opportunity to engage in various ways including written, verbal, and non-verbal expression. Group topics will vary based on members’ interests but may include building meaningful connections, exploring microaggressions, and navigating the university environment.

A formal diagnosis of autism is not required to participate in this group.

If you are interested in ASEC for Fall Quarter of 2025 please email the facilitator to schedule a group screening appointment prior to attending.

Facilitators: Rachael Negron, Psy.D. (rnegron@scu.edu)

Location: In-Person at the Cowell Center

Meetings for Fall Quarter 2025 occur Friday afternoons, please contact Dr. Rachael Negron for more information (rnegron@scu.edu)

An open and supportive space for BIPOC students to make connections, engage in self-exploration, and gain wisdom and energy from each other. Discussion topics will vary based on members’ preferences but may include micro aggressions, imposter syndrome, race-related stress and trauma, family concerns, and other issues related to being a person of color in this sociopolitical climate and university environment. 

Email the facilitator to schedule a group screening appointment prior to attending.
Facilitator: Dr. Miri Choi, Staff Psychologist (mchoi@scu.edu)

Dates/Time will be based on interested students and determined by Week 3
Location: In-Person at the Cowell Center

A weekly confidential therapy group where students can feel safe and welcomed as they explore their relationship with your body and move towards more freedom. Using a social justice lens, we strive to liberate ourselves from the systemic issues that surround us and acknowledge that we cannot fix these all on our own. Students will learn how to reconnect with their innate body wisdom so they can have a relationship with their body guided by self-compassion, intentionality, and humor. 

This group is open to members of all identities and all body shapes. 

Email the facilitator to schedule a group screening appointment prior to attending.
Facilitator: Dr. Estrella Ramirez, Staff Psychologist and Training Director (eramirez2@scu.edu)

Dates/Time will be based on interested students and determined by Week 3
Location: In-Person at the Cowell Center

This group is designed to provide a safe and supportive environment where those with difficult families can develop greater understanding of their family dynamics and how those dynamics affect them, even outside of their family environment. Topics vary per group meeting and are decided upon by the participants. Past topics have included making and maintaining boundaries with difficult family members; dealing with feelings of guilt related to distancing oneself from family; how family dynamics affect other relationships, including romantic relationships; overcoming and changing negative self-perceptions developed from growing up in a difficult family.

Email the facilitator to schedule a group screening appointment prior to attending.
Facilitator: Joe Walling, Psy.D. (jwalling@scu.edu)

Dates/Time will be based on interested students and determined by Week 3
Location: In-Person at the Cowell Center

A weekly open group designed to offer a variety of support for students interested in creating, understanding and deepening their personal self-care and wellness through a holistic model of treatment. Topics will center around utilizing mindfulness in areas of emotion management, nervous system regulation, creating healthy habits, building stress tolerance, boundary setting and authentic expression. This group will offer open discussion, as well as experiential tools like guided meditation and mindful breathing to accompany students on their wellness journey.

Facilitator: Justin Filiaggi, Therapist-in-Residence, jfiliaggi@scu.edu

Dates/Time: Tuesdays 6PM -7PM
Starts every quarter Week 2
Location: Sobrato 18

This therapy group is designed to help group members develop social skills and better manage social anxiety through fun, therapeutic game play. Come join an adventure through a “Dungeons and Dragons” like campaign designed to help members confront social anxiety through role-play. This group is designed for anyone to participate; TTRPG newcomers and veterans alike are welcome. 

Facilitator: Daniel Reed, Psy.D. (dreed2@scu.edu)

Dates/Time will be based on interested students and determined by Week 3

SCQ is a place where identity/sexuality is explored and celebrated while social networks are diversified and strengthened. During the group process, members will learn about minority stress and its impact on LGBTQ+ people. Members will practice ways to combat the negative impacts of minority stress while building self-care and self-compassion. Every round of SCQ is tailored to match the specific identities/topics of interest of each member. 

SCQ runs each quarter for 8 weeks. Students are only asked to commit to 1 quarter at a time. The group does not meet during holidays/finals.

Email the facilitator to schedule a group screening appointment prior to attending.
Facilitator: Clarise Ballesteros, MSW, LCSW, Staff Therapist (cballesteros@scu.edu)

Dates/Time will be based on interested students and determined by Week 3

This group will allow you to explore your inner emotional world, how you make decisions and interpret life's events, and how to relate with others. Especially well-suited for those interested in learning about their relationship patterns, how to interact with others more effectively, and how to build deeper and more meaningful relationships. 

Facilitator: Dr. Sarah Rotsinger-Stemen, Staff Psychologist (srotsingerstemen@scu.edu)

Dates/Time will be based on interested students and determined by Week 3

While individual counseling can be important, group counseling is often even more effective. Perhaps it is the chance to realize that what we see as our most terrible secrets or distasteful aspects are really common human experiences that is so helpful.

Embarrassment or shame keeps many people from taking advantage of group counseling. Overcoming these feelings can be an important part of living our lives more successfully. Group counseling is very helpful in this way.

Each person is unique, but as humans we have a lot in common. (We all grow up in families. We all react to hurt in similar ways. We all have the capacity to change.) While each individual’s concerns are different, the underlying issues are often similar.

Groups provide a special setting to learn about ourselves, others, and our interpersonal dynamics. This can increase our effectiveness in relationships and with ourselves outside the group. It takes time, helpful observations, and support from others to recognize and shift our ways of being.